Davos 2013: Kotak Mahindra Group Eyes Takeover Targets

Bangalore: Looking to further expand operations, Kotak Mahindra group is looking for potential acquisition targets in banking, asset management, broking and other areas of financial services sector and hopes to strike a deal this year.

"We are looking for attractive acquisition targets and hopefully there would be some deal this year," the group head and eminent banker Uday Kotak told PTI.

Kotak, whose group is present in various segments of financial services industry including banking, insurance, asset management, broking and equity research, was in this Swiss ski resort town for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting that ended on January 27.

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Asked about the geographies where the group was looking for acquisitions, Kotak said: "We are mainly looking domestically (within India) for potential acquisition target." About the businesses where potential acquisitions could
be explored, he said the group is looking at various opportunities across various sectors.

"There is nothing that has crystallised as yet, but we are looking across various segments including banking, asset management and other areas of financial services like broking as well," Kotak said.

Uday Kotak had set up erstwhile Kotak Capital Management Finance Ltd, which later became Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd, in 1985. Later in 2003, it became the country's first non-banking finance company to be converted into a bank - Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Over the years, Kotak Mahindra Group has expanded into several areas like stock broking and investment banking to car finance, life insurance and mutual funds. It serves over one crore customers across its various businesses.

Kotak Mahindra Bank recorded total income of over 13,000 crore in the last fiscal, up from about 11,000 crore in the previous year, while profits grew from 1,567 crore to 1,832 crore.